Who knows when winter fill finally break its hateful vice grip, but as soon as it does, you’re going to want to have your fridge stocked accordingly.

The joy of drinking at this transitional time of year is that everything is fair game. You still want those dark, moody porters and stouts for cool nights, but you can also reacquaint yourself with styles you may have cast aside in the colder months: crisp pilsners, floral farmhouse ales, and German-style maibocks, for example. Still, there are standouts among the vast field of candidates.

Last year, we asked Birch & Barley’s Greg Engert to school us on saisons, a quintessential warm-weather style, and also tracked down the best local spring brews for those in the NYC area. All of these are still worth drinking now, but we wanted to dig deeper for 2014, tapping our panel of suds pros to share their go-to beers for the season. Here’s who we asked:

Allagash Saison

From: Portland, ME
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.1%
Website: allagash.com
For the first time in seven years, the Belgian-mad Mainers have expanded their year-round offerings with Saison, an adroit interpretation of the farmhouse classic. Thanks to a dose of rye and traditional saison yeast, the beer drinks dry and spicy, with a citrusy aroma courtesy of Cascade hops.—Joshua M. Bernstein
Allagash's Saison just hit the market and for me it is an instant classic. Trying this beer for the first time, you get a great sense of balance between the malt profile and traditional saison esters and spicy notes. When I first had it, all I could think about was walking through the city's greenmarket as all the fresh flowers and produce start coming up.—Bill Brooks

Bell's Oberon Ale

From: Kalamazoo, MI
Style: Wheat ale
ABV: 5.8%
Website:bellsbeer.com
Back in 1992, a pint-size Michigan brewery called Kalamazoo introduced a smooth, gently fruity wheat ale called Solsun. The seasonal was an instant hit, though a trademark forced the brewery—today known as Bell’s—to change the beer’s name to Oberon. Forget that deceitful groundhog: Oberon’s annual release is the true sign that spring has hit.—Joshua M. Bernstein

Otter Creek Citra Mantra

From: Middlebury, VT
Style: India pale lager
ABV: 5.75%
Website:ottercreekbrewing.com
Sure, the Vermont brewery is riding high aboard the IPL bandwagon, but man, the addition of Citra hops gives the unfiltered Mantra a lushly tropical aroma that snuggles right up to the clean, crisp lager profile. The bitterness never abuses your taste buds, making the IPL ideal for repeated sipping.—Joshua M. Bernstein

Stone Go To IPA

From: San Diego, CA
Style: Session IPA
ABV: 4.5%
Website:stonebrewing.com
Realizing that, hey, perhaps a sixer of unabashedly hoppy Stone IPA may deep-six your sobriety, the hops-focused Southern Californians have turned their attention toward the shallower end of the alcohol pool. Go To is bright, vibrant, and pleasantly peachy, with a dialed-down bitterness that never intrudes. The name says it all: This is your new go-to brew for backyard BBQs.—Joshua M. Bernstein

Summit Fest Bier

From: St. Paul, MN
Style: Märzen
ABV: 5.5%
Website:summitbrewing.com
The Minnesota brewery’s Unchained Series gives brewers an experimental playground where they can dabble in, say, a Kentucky Common or bière de garde. For his release, brewer Nate Siats opted for a lager fermented for eight long weeks. The extra aging creates an uncommonly crisp, balanced masterpiece ideally guzzled by the liter.—Joshua M. Bernstein

Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock

From: Einbeck, Germany
Style: Maibock
ABV: 6.5%
Website:einbecker.de
When I first started out in the beer business, one of the great German spring beers available was Einbecker's Maibock. Einbeck is a classic brewing town in Germany—in the old days, the mayor was also the brewmaster!—Jimmy Carbone
A brewery with a history tied to the city of Einbeck, Germany, Einbecker has been making great pilsners styles for well over 600 years. Their spring maibock, or helles bock, still has enough malty body and mouthfeel to get me over those last couple of cold days, with the crispness and clean finish to enjoy when the sun starts peeking out and the temperature no longer requires a hoodie and a jacket. Also the extra .5% ABV can help nip those slightly cold nights right in the bud.—Bill Brooks

Lawson's Finest Liquids Spring Fever Session IPA

From: Warren, VT
Strong: IPA
ABV: 3.8%
Website:lawsonsfinest.com
My favorite spring beer this year is Lawson's Spring Fever Session IPA. Up here in Vermont, where we've still got a couple of feet of snow on the ground, I gravitate towards anything that hints at warmer weather. I was excited to see Sean enter what's fast becoming a very crowded category, but also nervous. Some of the session IPA's have been real clunkers: way too much bitterness for the lower malt bill to carry. The nose of this beer featured an explosion of hops for such a light beer (3.8% ABV), with plenty of earthy, grassy, and floral aromas—just what I want when I'm desperate for spring. The taste is surprisingly malt forward, however, balanced with just the right amount of hops. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Sean was able to create a miniature IPA—it's almost like his infamous Double Sunshine Imperial IPA had a baby.—David Broderick

Victory Swing Session Saison

From: Downington, PA
Style: Saison
ABV: 4.5%
Website:victorybeer.com
This beer is spring in a bottle. A great list of spices and citrus make the flavor profile perfect—peppercorns, orange peel, and lemon zest are about as spring time as it gets. Each one of these additions showcases itself assertively, but everything is well-balanced. The addition of a Belgian saison yeast adds a great dry quality to the beer, leaving you refreshed and ready for the next sip. Now, if only it was in cans for those days at the park…—Julian Kurland

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye

From: Chico, CA
Style: Rye IPA
ABV: 6.6%
Website:sierranevada.com
A much more assertive beer than the other ones I've mentioned on this list, Ruthless is an aggressive welcome to season. This beer showcases the assertive hops profile that people have come to love from Sierra, matched by a peppery body from the addition of rye malts. This also helps to dry out the beer, balancing out the citrus and pine from the hops. Just awesome.—Julian Kurland

Dogfish Head Aprihop

From: Milton, DE
Style: IPA
ABV: 7%
Website:dogfish.com
The addition of apricots to this American IPA makes it the best and most appropriate medium-ABV IPA for spring. It's thirst-quenching citrus notes complement beer-braised pork shoulder or your favorite barbecue dish.—Andrew Marcelli

Greenport Harbor Spring Turning Rye Saison

From: Greenport, NY
Strong: Rye saison
ABV: 5.7%
Website:harborbrewing.com
An extremely dry and delicious saison, this beer is perfect for spring and even tastes like it too. Grassy hops and peppery rye malt add delicious bready undertones. At a relatively low ABV of 6.25%, this beer is incredibly drinkable and should be in your rotation throughout the spring and into summer.—Julian Kurland

Jolly Pumpkin IO Saison

From: Dexter, MI
Style: Saison
ABV: 6.8%
Website:jollypumpkin.com
This 6.8%-ABV saison is brewed with rose hips, rose petals, and hibiscus, and like everything in Jolly Pumpkin's arsenal it is open-air fermented and aged in oak barrels, bringing a tart funkiness to the mix. A caramel malt backbone anchors this very creative take on the saison style.—Mike Lovullo

Maine Beer Company A Tiny Beautiful Something

From: Freeport, ME
Style: Pale ale
ABV: 5.5%
Website:mainebeercompany.com
Yet another delicate pale ale from the amazing talent behind Maine Beer Company. \Coming in at 5.5% ABV, this offering was inspired by a pilot-batch pale ale using only El Dorado hops. This new release features mostly El Dorado hops, with Warrior playing a supporting role. The flavor and aroma bring forth candied orange and citrus zest, while a touch of flaked oats provides a rounded, silky mouthfeel.—Mike Lovullo

Great Divide Chocolate Oak Yeti Imperial Stout

From: Denver, CO
Style: Imperial stout
ABV: 9.5%
Website:greatdivide.com
Boasting huge flavor notes including vanilla from the its aging in oak barrels, a sprinkle of cayenne, and, of course, cocoa nibs, this Yeti rendition earned its gold medal in the Great American Beer Festival’s chocolate beer category this past year. Beer lovers will happily welcome this abominable stout’s awakening from its winter slumber with open arms this April. Embrace the Yeti!—Ale Sharpton

Stillwater Omnipollo Nebuchadnezzar Remix

ABV: 6%
Style: Blonde
Website:stillwaterales.blogspot.com
This amazingly complex and refreshing 6%-ABV Belgian-style blonde ale is inspired by Omnipollo's Nebuchadnezzar Imperial IPA. Brian Strumke of Stillwater Artisanal decided to remix it, preserving the hop profile of the original but this time fermenting it with farmhouse yeast and Brettanomyces.—Mike Lovullo

Ommegang Glimmerglass

From: Cooperstown, NY
Style: Saison
ABV: 5.40%
Website:ommegang.com
This new saison from Ommegang is brewed with pink peppercorn and sweet orange peel, giving it great fruity and peppery notes. Saisons in general are a good way to welcome the change in season. And what says spring better than spring vegetables? Pair this beer with some seasoned and grilled asparagus.—Andrew Marcelli

Dieu du Ciel! Route des Epices

From: Montreal, Canada
Style: Rye ale
ABV: 5%
Website:dieuduciel.com
A 5% rye ale seems interesting already, but when you incorporate black and green peppercorns to the mix, the result is an assertively spicy, malt-balanced session ale. If the kick at the end isn't too much for your palate, plan on having a few of these.—Mike Lovullo

Founders KBS Imperial Breakfast Stout

From: Grand Rapids, MI
Style: Imperial stout
ABV: 11.2 %
Website:foundersbrewing.com
Blink and you'll miss this world-class imperial breakfast stout, the spring’s most anticipated beer release. The coffee- and chocolate-infused Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) is so damn good, there is an annual “KBS Week” in Grand Rapids to celebrate its release from the mine caves where it's aged. The brewery has to use online ticket registrations for bottles, and there are midnight launches all around the country, like this one at Argosy in Atlanta, GA. Oh, and RateBeer.com just named it the best beer in the U.S. Join the frenzy and get some by any means necessary.—Ale Sharpton

Maine Beer Company Mo

From: Freeport, ME
Style: Pale ale
ABV: 6%
Website:mainebeercompany.com
As many of us have learned in recent years, Maine Beer produces great pale ales and hoppy beers. Mo is one of my favorites. The citrusy, passion fruit aromas and subtle malt sweetness match up well with chicken.—Andrew Marcelli

Commons Brewery Myrtle Farmhouse Ale

From: Portland, OR
Style: Farmhouse ale
ABV: 5.2%
Website: commonsbrewery.com
After moving to a 7bbl brew house in 2011, Commons Brewery has been focusing on small batches of amazing farmhouse and wild ales. Among the ones that have made their way to NYC recently, Myrtle is ideal for spring—it's brewed with Lemon Meridian hops and a touch of Lactobacillus for a pleasantly tart, Meyer lemon finish. This beer, while very light and subtle, pairs well with warm sunshine on your face. It's easy to drink and slightly flirtatious; I can't wait to take this little beauty on a date to Central Park.—Bill Brooks

Finback Double Sess

From: Queens, NY
Style: Witbier
ABV: 4.5%
Website:finbackbrewery.com
Finback brewery, a brand-spanking new brewery in Queens, has amped up the wit style with ginger, camomile, and Sichuan peppercorns. The name is a play on sessions beers, and the lower ABV makes it perfect for spring.—Jimmy Carbone

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